September/October 2013 News from the Medical Schools: Research

The Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) brings you the following compilation of the most recent updates and news on research from the academic medical centers in the state.

For the e-newsletter, click here.

AMSNY Joins Rally for Medical Research Hill Day in Washington, D.C.

September 2013 – As a follow-up to the April 2013 Rally for Medical Research, a broad coalition of individuals representing academic medicine, biomedical research and patient advocacy groups met with Federal lawmakers on September 18th. In total, nearly 300 people from 40 states attended meetings to express their concerns over cuts to medical research.

For the full story, click here.

Budget Cuts, Sequester, Shut Down. When Will The Damage End?

October 1, 2013 – Ross Frommer, Vice President for Government and Community Affairs and Associate Dean of Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), discusses sequestration, and what it means for the federal budget and the overall U.S. economy, emphasizing how National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds are crucial for CUMC and others who rely on federal support for research and other activities.

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 Columbia University Medical Center. All rights reserved.}

MacArthur Foundation Fellows Program: Sheila Nirenberg

September 24, 2013 – Dr. Sheila Nirenberg, a professor at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, is also a neuroscientist exploring fundamental questions about how the brain encodes visual information and developing an alternative approach to restoring sight after photoreceptor cell degeneration.

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. All rights reserved.}

New York Genome Center Officially Opens

September 18, 2013 – The New York Genome Center (NYGC) research facility has officially opened with the announcement of the constituent academic and industrial members, including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and universities including Columbia, Cornell and New York.

The mission of the non-profit NYGC is ‘to transform biomedical research and clinical care in New York and beyond, leading to a new era of genomic medicine.’

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 New York Genome Center. All rights reserved.}

Weill Cornell Medical College Announces New Dean of Graduate School of Medical Sciences

September 13, 2013 – One of the world’s leading immunologists, Dr. Gary Koretzky, has been named dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and senior associate dean for research at Weill Cornell Medical College, effective Oct. 1.

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 Weill Cornell Medical College. All rights reserved.}

For a related highlight from Crain’s Health Pulse, click here.
_{© 2013 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.}

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants for Research

Governor Cuomo Announces $2 Million NIH Grant Awarded to SUNY Upstate Medical Center
To accelerate biomedical research capabilities across Central New York. In partnership with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), Syracuse University, Cornell University, the University of Rochester and the University at Buffalo.

Mount Sinai Researchers Will Use $2.9 Million NIH Grant to Study Disease in Ethnically-Diverse Populations
To gain a greater understanding of the underlying causes, in order to improve treatment and to achieve reductions in health disparities among underserved minority populations.

NIH Grant to Support Mount Sinai Research Program for Alzheimer’s Disease Study
To apply innovative analytical methods to gain new insights and identify potential therapies for Alzheimer’s Disease. In partnership with New York State Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) and other institutions.

$2.9 Million NIH Grant Will Enhance Vaccine Research at Albany Medical College
To develop a universal vaccine strategy that could be used to produce vaccines to protect against many different diseases.

Mount Sinai Receives $2.6 Million NIH Grant to Increase Engagement of African Americans in Cancer Screening
To determine factors which may influence why African Americans are less likely than others to receive colorectal cancer (CRC) screenings, despite having the highest CRC incidence and mortality of any ethnic/racial group in America.

Other Awards/Grants for Research

Governor Cuomo Announces Nearly $700,000 Research Collaboration Fund Awards to 10 SUNY Campuses
To supports research collaborations among campuses as part of SUNY system’s strategic plan, The Power of SUNY. Recipients include Stony Brook University, University at Buffalo, Upstate Medical University, Downstate Medical Center, and University at Albany.

New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Receives Transformative Gift from The Mortimer D. Sackler Foundation
To create the Sackler Brain and Spine Institute in support of neurological and neurosurgical patient care and innovative medical research and education.

New York Medical College Receives $250,000 Research Grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels
In honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Mitchell Cairo, M.D., physician-researcher and head of Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital’s pediatric hematology/oncology team, to apply innovative analytical methods to gain new insights and identify potential therapies.

$2 Million Research Gift to Support Geriatric Fracture Care, Orthopaedic Research
Gift by Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist, to support clinical and research work related to geriatric fracture care being led by Stephen I. Kates, M.D., in the Department of Orthopaedics and the Center for Musculoskeletal Research (CMSR).

Weill Cornell Medical College Receives $100 Million Gift From Joan and Sanford I. Weill and Weill Family Foundation
To launch $300 million Driving Discoveries, Changing Lives campaign dedicated to using the most advanced scientific approaches to rapidly translate research breakthroughs into innovative treatments and therapies for patients.

Fully Dissolvable, Temporary Stent for Opening Heart Artery Blockages Now Being Tested at the Mount Sinai Medical Center

September 17, 2013 – The Mount Sinai Medical Center is participating in the nationwide ABSORB III clinical trial testing the performance and potential clinical benefits of a fully dissolvable and temporary drug eluting stent to open heart artery blockages.

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 The Mount Sinai Hospital. All rights reserved.}

For a similar story:
Global Analysis Shows Cardiac Stents Beneficial in Women
_{© 2013 The Mount Sinai Hospital. All rights reserved.}

A Small Molecule May Help Reduce Damage in Aging-Related Heart Attacks

August 29, 2013 – Researchers at the University at Buffalo have found that a small molecule developed at Yale University can significantly reduce the amount of heart muscle damaged, which may result in a novel approach to reduce the severity of heart attacks in the elderly.

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 University at Buffalo. All rights reserved.}

Study Paves Way for Personalized Juvenile Arthritis Treatment

September 16, 2013 – University at Buffalo researchers have provided the first genomic characterization of remission in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), paving the way for individualized treatments. Their study, led by James N. Jarvis, MD, clinical professor of pediatrics, offers a possible explanation for common disease flares.

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 University at Buffalo. All rights reserved.}

Stem Cells are Wired for Cooperation, Down to the DNA

September 12, 2013 – A study by researchers at The Mount Sinai Medical Center reveals a network of genes that safeguard cooperation in stem cells and the developing embryo. Understanding the genetic basis of cooperative and competitive cellular behaviors could explain how cancer and immune system dysfunction develops.

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 The Mount Sinai Hospital. All rights reserved.}

Tests Could Identify Which Prostate Cancers Require Treatment

September 11, 2013 – The level of expression of three genes associated with aging can be used to predict whether seemingly low-risk prostate cancer will remain slow-growing, according to researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center.

For the full story, click here.
_{© 2013 Columbia University Medical Center. All rights reserved.}

Bone Hormone Influences Brain Development and Cognition

September 26, 2013 – Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have found that the skeleton, acting through the bone-derived hormone osteocalcin, exerts a powerful influence on prenatal brain development and cognitive functions such as learning, memory, anxiety, and depression in adult mice.

Managed Care Reduces Hospitalizations in Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia

September 23, 2013 – A study led by researchers of NYU School of Medicine and other institutions suggests that providing intensive primary care services may result in less burdensome and less costly care for terminally ill nursing home residents with advanced dementia.

Novel Treatment for Gonorrhea Acts like a “Live Vaccine” and Prevents Reinfection

September 18, 2013 – A new gonorrhea treatment, based on an anti-cancer therapy developed by a Buffalo startup company, has successfully eliminated gonococcal infection from female mice and prevented reinfection
according to research published today by University at Buffalo scientists in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Birth Setting Study Signals Significant Risks in Planned Home Birth

September 17, 2013 – Researchers at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center have found that babies born at home are roughly 10 times as likely to be stillborn and almost four times as likely to have neonatal seizures or serious neurologic dysfunction when compared to babies born in hospitals.

Mental Fog with Tamoxifen is Real; Scientists Find Possible Antedote

September 17, 2013 – A team from the University of Rochester Medical Center have discovered an existing drug compound that appears to counteract or rescue brain cells from the adverse effects of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen, which produces a mental fogginess similar to “chemo brain.”

New Technology Transforms Research in Viral Biology

September 11, 2013 – Researchers at The Mount Sinai Medical Center have developed an innovative system to test how a virus interacts with cells in the body. Such a technique will help scientists improve vaccine production, generate novel antiviral compounds, and advance the development of viruses that attack cancer cells.

First Proteomic Analysis of Birth Defect Demonstrates Power of a New Technique

September 11, 2013 – The first proteomic analysis of a rare, sometimes deadly birth defect, Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS), has provided a better understanding of its causes, also demonstrating that this new methodology can be utilized to study other diseases.

Mount Sinai Scientists Discover New Routes for Immune Cells to Tackle Infections of the Gut

September 11, 2013 – Scientists at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Trinity College in Dublin have discovered new routes of cellular traffic to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This may have a potential impact on the design of new vaccines against infections such as HIV and E. Coli.

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